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Rich Monday – Skateboarding Reality Check

Starting in 1977 Rich Monday joined the skate community and became a local presence in the Modesto skateboard community. His parents used the local skateboard park, “The Heat Wave” as a 7 day a week day care and each day he was dropped off for hour after hour of skateboarding adventure. Rich Monday started competing locally and after the popular park closed the local crew united again through high school and at an empty swimming pool in the neighborhood on Rumble Road. The Rumble Pool Crew, after seeing their beloved skate park close, now faced the filling of dirt in their sacred skate home away from home skate lair, the ‘Rumble pool’.

The skate clan stayed tight and joined in on the backyard ramp explosion of the 1980’s. The Brown brothers Mike and Paul were the first to venture into ramp building with their well built front yard quarter pipe placed on the city sidewalk. Rich Monday and the local pros traveled the Californian coast skating everyday from town to town. Sponsored by family and anybody who gave to the cause, the gang of chargers lived the lifestyle of the surf and skate rat chasing the newest skate opportunity offered. Rich Monday only had one victory as an amateur at a skateboard contest in Fresno California. Soon after he landed his first sponsors from a Valley Sporting Goods and a skate and surf shop in Santa Cruz California. In 1985 Rich Monday applied for the high ranks of skateboarding known as the ‘NSA’, (The National Skateboard Association). All the best pro events were in southern California at skate parks like the Del Mar Skate Ranch and Upland. The competition was fierce and along with injuries, led Rich Monday down a different path of drugs and alcohol. Later in 1990 Rich Monday took a pro skateboarding position with the traveling Vans shoes skate team and went on the road as a demo skater. Although a short career competitively, it has been a lifelong lifestyle for Monday some 30 years later and is actively apart of the skateboard industry.